User guide

Aphelion is a node compositor: media and effects live on a graph, preview plays through a Viewer, and export reads the active Viewer.

Workspace

The main window is a set of docks:

Focus shortcuts: viewport Ctrl+1, graph Ctrl+2, timeline Ctrl+3, properties Ctrl+4.

Reset docks with Reset Layout (Ctrl+Shift+R). Show every dock with Ctrl+Shift+P. Fullscreen is F11.

Node graph

• Tab opens the node search palette.
• Add Node menus (graph context menu and the application menu) list every registered type, including plugins that are enabled.
• Number keys 1 and 2 create Video Input and Viewer by default. Slots 3–0 are unassigned; bind them in Preferences.
• Wire output sockets to compatible inputs. Unary video effects take one frame and emit one frame.
• F / Shift+F fit the graph. Ctrl+Shift+O auto-layouts by data flow.

Copy, paste, duplicate, and delete operate on the selection (Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V / Ctrl+D / Delete).

Custom nodes

Custom nodes are reusable chips that wrap a group of nodes and behave like a function. They live under the Custom category in every Add Node menu and node search palette, in every project.

Create one with Create Custom Node… (Ctrl+Shift+G) or the graph/node context menu:

1. Select the nodes to fold. Wires entering the selection become input ports; wires leaving it become output ports. Viewer nodes are never folded in — a wire to a Viewer becomes an output port instead.
2. Name the chip, pick a header color, and choose Create or Create & Edit….

Right-click a chip and choose Edit Custom Node… to open the definition editor:

• Ports — add, rename, retype, or remove exposed inputs and outputs.
• Parameters — Add Parameter… exposes an inner node property (slider, number, toggle, text, or color) as an adjustable knob on the chip. Choose a target from the menu; the parameter inherits the property's label, type, and slider range. Parameters are edited on the chip like any other node property, and support keyframes.
• Node Properties — edit the inner nodes' own properties while you work.
• Preview — a temporary Viewer node is wired into the editor graph so you can watch the result live. Wire any inner node into it while editing. Viewer nodes are preview-only and never saved into the definition.

Expand Custom Node (node context menu) replaces a chip with its underlying nodes for one-off tweaks without touching the saved definition.

Definitions are stored in userdata/custom_nodes.json and registered at startup. Each .aph project also embeds the definitions it uses, so a project still loads on a machine that has never seen them.

Playback and preview

Space toggles play. Left/Right step a frame. Home/End jump to the start/end. I / O set in/out.

Preview is a float32 RGB pipeline in [0, 1]. Decode-time proxy width defaults to 960px. Playback can independently drop to a 640px proxy (Preferences → Performance). Frame cache default budget is 2048 MB (range 256–16384 MB).

Ctrl+Shift+K clears the frame cache.

Timeline and keyframes

The timeline drives current_frame for the project. Animated properties are edited in the properties dock / keyframes panel. Project resolution, fps, and duration are under Project Settings (Ctrl+Shift+,).

Export

Ctrl+E exports the active Viewer to MP4 or a PNG sequence on a background worker. If no Viewer is active, set one in the graph first.

Projects

Projects are .aph JSON documents. Ctrl+S saves; Ctrl+Shift+S saves as. Autosave runs every 30 seconds once the project has a path (disable in Preferences → General).

Preferences

Ctrl+, opens Preferences.

Ctrl+/ opens the keyboard shortcuts overview.

Default shortcuts

Pin frequently used actions on the pin bar (toolbar). Visibility is remembered in preferences.